From the Wall Street Journal OpinionPage.
The recent outbreak of open anti-Semitism on U.S. college campuses has been shocking, and it speaks to the antiWestern indoctrination that has been cultivated for decades at American universities. Also shocking has been the failure of these schools to protect their Jewish students, Cornell University canceled classes on Friday after a student made violent threats against Jews.
This demands a response at the schools and beyond, and some good news on that score arrived this week in a letter from leading law firms to the deans of U.S. law schools. The letter was first signed by 24 major firms, such as Sullivan & Cromwell and Davis Polk, and as of Thursday afternoon had 60 signatories and counting.
Over the last several weeks, we have been alarmed at reports of anti Semitic harassment, vandalism and assaults on college campuses, including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel. Such anti Semitic activities would not be tolerated at any of our firms.
The letter calls on the deans to protect the free exchange of ideas and warns that as employers who recruit from each of your law schools, we look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses.
Thatis a not so subtle warning that anti Semites will not be welcome on recruiting visits.
The letter was the idea of Joe Shenker, senior chairman of Sullivan and Cromwell, who was in Israel on Oct. 7. He tells us that after the American Lawyer wrote about his experience, law students began to contact him with stories about harassment on campus. This included verbal threats and anti Jewish slurs, including gas the Jews, that have become common since Oct. 7. Mr. Shenker drafted the letter, worked his contacts in the legal community, and they sent the letter.
The anti Jewish hate that has burst into the open in the last month is deeply troubling and must be resisted. If college administrators are too cowardly to act, and to discipline or expel the haters, then the larger society needs to apply pressure so they do. Good for Mr. Shenker and his legal associates.
AMEN
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